Salisbury speaker warns of another Oklahoma City, with Newtown gun laws as a factor

Eighteen years ago on April 19, the nation experienced the most heinous act of terrorism until that time, the destruction of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City, which killed 168 people, including 19 children under the age of 6, and injured another 680.

It remained the most destructive act of terrorism on American soil until the 9/11 attacks and has the distinction of having been perpetrated by American citizens against other Americans.

There has not been another act of domestic terrorism of that magnitude since then, but Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), who will speak before the Salisbury Forum on April 19 at 7:30 p.m. at The Hotchkiss School, says the probability of another attack is growing.

"One thing I will talk about in Salisbury is how we are seeing similar signs now to what we saw before the Oklahoma City bombing," he said in a telephone interview from New Mexico. "I don't think the country is headed for a revolution, but I wouldn't be surprised if we see another Oklahoma City. I think the prospect of significant damage from domestic terrorism is very real."

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Mr. Cohen said the SPLC, a Montgomery, Ala., group that monitors hate and other extremist groups throughout the U.S., wrote a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano in March advising them of the growing threat of "patriot" groups.

Patriot groups, which are dedicated to the overthrow of the federal government because they believe it will confiscate weapons and impose socialism, expanded in number and size for the fourth consecutive year, the SPLC said.

Patriot groups have been classified by the law center as hate organizations because their anti-government sentiment is almost always paired with racism.

The letter, signed by Mr. Cohen, noted that the SPLC had warned the government about a growing threat of domestic terrorism six months before the Oklahoma City bombing.

"Today, we write to express similar concerns," the letter said. "In the last four years, we have seen a tremendous increase in the number of conspiracy-minded, anti-government groups as well as in the number of domestic terrorist plots. As in the period before the Oklahoma City bombing, we now also are seeing ominous threats from those who believe that the government is poised to take their guns. Because of the looming dangers, we urge you to establish an interagency task force to assess the adequacy of the resources devoted to responding to the growing threat of non-Islamic domestic terrorism."

"It's absolutely disturbing," said Mr. Cohen in his phone interview. "The Department of Homeland Security seems reluctant to devote significant resources to monitoring non-Islamic domestic terrorism, especially in the light of the election of an African-American president and the collapse of the economy."

He noted that FBI director Robert Mueller warned in 2010 that "home-grown and lone-wolf extremists" now represent as serious a threat as al-Qaeda and its affiliates.

The SPLC released its latest report on the state of hate and extremism in the nation in March at the same time it wrote to Mr. Holder and Ms. Napolitano. The report documents the sharp increase in the number of militias and radical anti-government groups since the economy collapsed and Mr. Obama was elected--from 149 in 2008 to 1,360 in 2012. The latest count exceeds the high-water mark of the 1990s by more than 500.

"What fueled their rise before was passage of the Brady Bill in 1993 and the ban on assault rifles in 1994--the NRA talked about jack-booted thugs taking guns away," Mr. Cohen said. "Then there was the election of a relatively progressive Democratic president and the incidents at Waco and Ruby Ridge exacerbated the issue. All those factors contributed to the rise of anti-government groups. At the high point of anti-government movement in the 1990s, there were about 858 groups. It died down after a government crack-down and when the political scene changed to a GOP president, George W. Bush, who they thought reflected their viewpoint."

The election of Mr. Obama, however, combined with the economic difficulties of the past five years, has caused the number of anti-government groups to spike again. "Our first African-American president has been portrayed as 'the other' by these groups," Mr. Cohen observed. "And it's not just by crazy people, but by mainstream political people. Newt Gingrich says Obama has a 'Kenyan anti-Colonial' mentality, and Senator [John] Sununu said he wished Obama would learn how to be an American. And that is just what is said in public--what is said underneath is much worse."

Add to that the economic circumstances in the country and the increase in non-white immigration and the picture gets ugly. "The world takes on a different cast when times are uncertain," said Mr. Cohen. "We are dealing with large structural changes in the country--the globalization of the world economy and huge dislocations in the labor force. People are feeling very unstable.

"The changing demographics have upset many people and the country is having a hard time coming to terms with it," he continued. "Obama symbolizes that change to so many people. We have this Kenyan-born, secret Muslim running the country--that is how the country sees it."

Add the Newtown massacre, in which Adam Lanza gunned down 20 first-graders and six educators, and the situation becomes even more volatile. "The 1,300 hate groups we counted were before Newtown," Mr. Cohen said, "and before proposals to reinstitute the ban on assault rifles and to require background checks. We are in a really incendiary situation now. A mixture of those who hate and those with guns is a disaster."

Mr. Cohen said he will discuss the history of hate groups in the U.S. and what can be done about them when he comes to Salisbury. "Reducing the number of these groups will require a full-court press by our churches, schools and among government leaders," he said. "Unfortunately, many politicians would rather roil the waters than be responsible. Exhibits A and B are Gingrich and Sununu--'Learn to be an American!' What the hell is that! It's very important to monitor right-wing terrorism and very important to improve the economy. The rise of anti-government groups and hate groups are reactions to larger problems."

Admission to the Salisbury Forum is free. The Hotchkiss School is located at 11 Interlaken Road in the Lakeville section of Salisbury. The Salisbury Forum has a Web site at http://salisburyforum.org, and the school's Web site is www.hotchkiss.org.